by Robin Caroll
TWENTY
Lance closed the cell phone, cursing under his breath.
Jon cut his eyes to Caleb. As soon as Lance and Kinnard had entered the room, Lance’s cell had rung. He’d stared at the caller ID, frowned, then ordered Kinnard to gag Jon and Caleb. While Lance had been involved on the phone, Jon had been steadily working on the rope around his wrists.
He’d perked up when he’d realized Lance was talking to Sadie. At least she was okay. But what was she doing calling Lance?
Now, Lance paced. And cursed. He stopped in front of Caleb and took out the rag. “What’d you tell your sister about me?”
Caleb sputtered and even spat on the floor. Lance grabbed him by the chin and shook his head. “I asked you what you told your sister about me.”
“Nothing, dude. I didn’t say a word about you.”
“She knows I dropped you off at your house. What’d you tell her about what we did?”
Oh, no. Jon wished he could tell Caleb to mislead Lance. God, please help him. He worked at the rope even harder, fighting not to be noticed.
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?” Lance straightened, crossing his arms over his chest and looking down at Caleb. “I’m supposed to believe you didn’t tell her anything?”
“She asked, but I distracted her. She was mad and upset.”
Jon swallowed. Had to be the day she’d thrown water on him. The rope slipped. Almost free.
Lance snorted. “Sadie Thompson distracted? I don’t think so. That woman’s smart and once she gets an idea, she doesn’t let it go.”
Jon froze, praying Caleb wouldn’t mention him in regards to Sadie.
“She’d gotten into an argument with…with a guy she was seeing.”
Relief swarmed over Jon. Caleb was one smart cookie.
Kinnard chuckled. “Yeah, I’ve heard all about the guys Sadie sees.”
It was all Jon could do not to charge into the man’s beer gut. He shifted his hand. The rope moved a little more.
Lance glared over his shoulder at Kinnard. “Shut up. I’ll get to you in a minute.” He turned back to Caleb. “She never brought it up again? Me?”
“Never.”
Lance straightened, obviously debating about whether to believe Caleb. Finally, he turned his back on Jon and Caleb and advanced on Kinnard. “Now, tell me what you did to my father.”
“Huh?”
“What. Did. You. Do. To. My. Father?”
Jon worked diligently on the rope now. Less than an inch and he’d have his hand free. Free to fight and get Caleb home safe. Get home to Sadie.
Kinnard actually began to sweat. “Well, kid, ya know he wasn’t goin’ for our original plan. He hadn’t taken you back into the house or anythin’ like that. So, let’s just say I got even with him for ya.”
Lance fisted his hands at his sides. “I’m not going to ask you again, Jack. What did you do to my father?”
“I just slipped a little poison into his supper.”
Jon struggled not to react. Ask the question, Lance. Come on,boy, connect the dots here. If only he could spit out the rag and yell at the boy.
“You did what?”
“Look, he wasn’t gonna take ya back in. He’s of no use to ya now. Might as well kill him and get his money.” Kinnard took a cautious step backward. “I did it so ya’d git yer money, Lance.”
Kinnard, scared of the kid? Jon didn’t see that one coming. Come on, Lance, ask the question. It’s right there in front of your face.
“You stupid cooyon! My father wrote me out of his will! If he dies now, without changing it, I get nothing! Do you understand, you fat imbecile? I get nothing!” Lance’s face was redder than Jon could’ve ever imagined. The veins in the boy’s neck were popping out at all angles.
Jon worked the rope harder. Knowing he and Caleb were being ignored for now, he wasn’t as cautious about his movements.
“I—I didn’t know.” Kinnard took another step backward.
“You’ve ruined everything. First you shoot Daniels, then get the bright idea to take his picture. You wanted to blackmail my father, but that was the stupidest idea ever. Then, I fix that and get everything going smooth, you bring my parole officer out here.” Lance jabbed his thumb over his shoulder, but never turned his head.
Jon worked more frantically on the rope.
Lance paid him no attention, just kept yelling and advancing on Kinnard. “Now you’ve gone and poisoned my father. He’ll die without changing his will and I’ll be destitute. You stupid moron.”
“I-I’m sorry, Lance. I didn’t know he’d written ya out. I’d ’a never poisoned him if I’d known.”
Lance stopped advancing. His body went rigid.
Jon froze. Finally, the kid was going to ask the right question.
“How were you able to poison my father’s food?”
Kinnard’s ruddy face went white. No, it went whiter than white. For a moment, Jon wondered if the man would have a heart attack right on the spot.
“I asked you how you were able to poison his food.”
“Well, I, uh—”
This wasn’t going down a good avenue. Jon wrestled with the rope at his wrists.
“How, Jack? Tell me.” Lance’s body language made it perfectly clear he was barely containing his anger.
“She came to me, Lance. Said she knew what we were up to. Said she’d turn us in to the police if I didn’t do what she said.” Kinnard actually trembled.
Oh, no. Lance was sure to blow. Jon jerked his right hand against the rope. It caught on his thumb joint, but not tight. He made his hand as thin as possible, maneuvering the thumb and pad. Slowly, slowly…there! His hands were free.
“Who? Candy-Jo? You’ve been working with her all this time?”
Jon coughed. Neither Kinnard nor Lance spared him a glance. Jon eased his left foot over to tap Caleb.
“No, it’s not like that. She caught on to what we was doin’.”
Caleb glanced at Jon, who waved his free hands behind him. Caleb’s eyes widened. Jon nodded, then dipped his head toward Lance and Kinnard.
Without warning, Lance reared back his fist and smacked Kinnard in the chin. The big man wavered, then slumped to the couch. Lance leaned in, right in Kinnard’s face. “What kind of poison did you use? I need to know, you stupid oaf, so I can rush in and save his life. Otherwise, my life is over.”
Kinnard trembled as Lance shook him. “Tell me, what poison?”
“I don’t know. Rat poison.”
Strychnine. Jon struggled to remember what he’d learned about the drug in his continuing education. It was a level six in toxicity rating—a small amount could kill Deacon Wynn.
“She’s planned to kill him and get his money, now that I’ve been written out of the will.” Lance straightened and checked his cell phone. “Ms. Thompson called me ten minutes ago. I don’t have any idea how long it took her to call me.” He glared at his partner. “How much of a dose did you use?”
“I—I don’t know. A little packet.”
Escape or save a life? God, what do I do?
Lance ran a hand over his head. “What am I going to do now?”
Save a life.
Jon pushed his hands back into position as if they were still tied and stomped his foot. Lance turned around, surprise hitting his features. In his anger, he must have totally forgotten about Jon and Caleb. “What?”
Jon stomped his foot again.
Lance crossed the room and snatched the rag from Jon’s mouth. “What?”
Taking a deep breath, Jon leveled his breathing. “The poison is strychnine. It’s diluted in rat poison, so you can still save his life. But the hospital needs to know what was used. They’ll need to act immediately. You need to get there and tell them it was rat poison. If you wait, he could die.”
Lance stood still for a moment. “But I can’t get there for at least twenty minutes from here.”
“Call the emergency room and tell them.”
/> “They won’t believe me. Especially if Candy-Jo’s there.”
Jon swallowed hard. “Then call Sadie and tell her. She’ll let the hospital know and they’ll trust her.”
“She won’t believe me. She’s suspecting I’m up to something.”
Jon took a deep breath. “Then let me call her.”
“Are ya crazy?” Kinnard came out of his stupor, but still stayed across the room from Lance.
“Shut up, Jack. It’s because of you I’m in this mess.”
Jon stared at Lance. “Look, I know you’re scared and you have every right to be. But we have to make that call now. Your father’s life is in the balance.”
Lance paused, then grabbed the Desert Eagle from Kinnard’s waistband. He moved to hold the gun at Caleb’s head, then opened his cell phone, dialed a number and held the phone up to Jon’s ear. “Fine. You call Ms. Thompson and convince her to call the hospital. But one wrong word and she’ll get to hear her brother shot. Got that?”
Oh, did he ever.
Unknown name. Unknown number.
Sadie stared at the caller ID readout. Probably a sales call, for which she so wasn’t in the mood. She let it ring a second time.
“Okay to answer,” the agent yelled from the living room.
Wow, she’d better call NASA—they had to be missing one of their rocket scientists. Conviction came over her instantly. That was mean and unfair. She lifted the cordless and pressed the talk button. “Hello.”
“Sadie, it’s Jon. Jon Garrison.”
Her heart raced. As if she wouldn’t recognize his voice. “Jon, where are you? I’ve been worried sick. I can—”
“Listen to me. I can’t talk long. I need you to call the emergency room and tell them Deacon’s been poisoned with strychnine, in rat poison form. They’ll know what to do.”
“Rat poison? How do you know about Deacon? Jon, what’s going on?”
“Just do as I ask, please.” Muffled sounds echoed over the line. “Time’s of the essence, so you need to make the call. Will you do that for me?”
“Of course. But I—”
“The police will have questions regarding the poisoning. Have them question Candy-Jo. Seriously question her.”
“O-kay. So, Lance was right? She was just after Deacon’s money?”
“Yes, Lance was right. Candy-Jo is responsible for Deacon’s poisoning. Now, we’re fine, but you need to make that call now. Love you. Bye.”
Sadie dropped the phone. It landed on the floor with a crash, the battery cover flying across the wooden floor.
“We got it. The call was made from a cellular phone registered to Lance Wynn.” The FBI agent flipped open his own phone and pressed a button. “Ward, we just got a call from Jon Garrison, but on Lance Wynn’s phone.” He ducked back into the living room.
But Sadie didn’t listen. She was shocked and numb. Jon had said he loved her.
Her heart flipped, but another part of her ached. He loved her, but did he just tell her that because he was about to die?
“Sadie, you need to call the hospital.” Felicia nudged her. “The agents are working it, but you need to make sure. It could save Deacon’s life.”
Snapping out of her trance, Sadie bent for the phone.
“It’s broken. Use mine.” Felicia slipped her cell into Sadie’s hands.
Sadie dialed 911, informed the operator that she had critical information needed by the emergency room personnel and asked to be patched through to the hospital. Several clicks later, and a triage nurse was on the line.
She explained about the strychnine used on Deacon. The nurse yelled out something, then hung up. Sadie ended the call, then dialed 911 again. This time when the dispatcher answered, she requested to speak to Sheriff Theriot in regard to an attempted murder. She was put on hold while the patch was activated.
Jon had said we’re fine. Had that been his clue to her that he was with Caleb?
It had to be!
Sheriff Theriot answered in his usual rough manner. But once she told him about Jon’s call, excitement filled his voice. He thanked her and hung up.
She started to close the phone, but something about Jon’s voice…He knew Candy-Jo had poisoned Deacon. What if the sheriff just questioned her off the cuff? Sadie quickly dialed Georgia’s cell phone.
She answered on the first ring. “Hello.”
“Georgia, it’s Sadie. How’s Deacon?”
“Not so good. They’ve given him Valium for the spasms, but he’s in a lot of pain, Candy-Jo says.”
Would Valium do anything for the strychnine? “Is Candy-Jo right there near you?”
“Not right now. They let her in every so often and she stays until he has another spasm. What’s going on? Have you heard from your brother?”
“In an offhand way.” She was choosing to believe Jon and Caleb were together and God was keeping them safe. “Keep your voice down, in case someone can overhear you. Listen, Sheriff Theriot is going to come question Candy-Jo about Deacon being poisoned.”
“Poisoned?”
“Keep your voice low, remember?”
“Okay. Poisoned?”
“Yes. I can’t go into detail, right now, but he’s been poisoned. And Candy-Jo’s involved.”
“Oh, wow. How do you know this?”
“I can’t tell you, just trust me. So don’t let her leave or run, okay? Do whatever it takes, but keep her there until I make sure there’s physical evidence.”
“Okay, you got it.”
“Merci, Georgia. Let me know if there’s any change.”
Sadie returned the phone to Felicia, who fixed her another cup of hot tea. Sadie smiled her thanks and went onto the patio, reliving Jon’s words again.
Her hands trembled until tea sloshed over the cup.
She rushed back inside, passing Felicia and Pastor sitting at the kitchen table, and stopped in the living room. She fisted her hands on her hips and stared at the FBI agent. “They should’ve found Jon by his GPS by now. What’s the status?”
His eyes glazed over in a condescending way and he opened his mouth.
“No. Don’t give me a runaround or patronize me. I want to know what’s going on and I want to know now.”
He sat up straight on the couch. “Ma’am, I can tell you they’ve locked on to his position and are on-site as we speak.”
Her knees went weak. She eased to the arm of the chair. “They’re there?”
“Yes, ma’am. I just got the information. They’re surrounding the building the GPS is transmitting from.”
Ice ran through Sadie’s veins.
TWENTY-ONE
“You sure she’ll call the hospital?” Lance grabbed his phone back from Jon, but at least he moved the gun off Caleb.
“She’ll call. Probably already has.” Jon wondered about the wisdom of slipping in his declaration of love, but if that was the last time he would be able to talk to her, he wanted her to know. Besides, Lance had seemed too worked up to notice.
“Think they’ll listen to her?”
“Yes. She’s Deacon’s faithful employee and everybody in Lagniappe knows it, especially after all the media coverage. She’ll make them listen.”
“Good.” Lance pocketed his phone and tucked the gun into his own waistband. “I hope she tells them in time.”
“I’m praying he’ll be fine.”
Lance stopped moving. “You pray?”
Jon wrestled with the words. “I didn’t for a long time, but I sure do now.”
“Ya some kinda religious freak?” Kinnard dared to move closer in the room.
“What’s it to you if he is?” Lance shook his head. “You know, I still can’t believe you did anything Candy-Jo told you.”
Kinnard moved back to his post by the door. “She was gonna tell the cops on us. I didn’t have a choice.”
“You always have a choice.” Jon couldn’t believe he’d spoken aloud. Both Lance and Kinnard stared at him. He wet his lips. Might as well go down i
n flames if he had to go. “It’s called free will. You can choose to do something you know is wrong or you can opt to do what’s right, even if it’s harder.”
“Like our destiny?” Lance asked.
“No, like if you want to follow the will of God or not.”
“And you listen to God?”
“I do.”
“What a load of baloney.” Kinnard shifted his weight from one leg to the other.
Lance directed his attention to his partner. “Just what would you know about it, Jack? I don’t think you even know enough to argue.”
Kinnard just grunted.
Looking back to Jon, Lance visibly relaxed his shoulders. “Do you think they’ll be able to save him? That we told them in time?”
“I don’t know that, son. All I know is that Sadie will make them listen to her. She’s that type of woman.” And his heart hurting proved how much he missed her.
“So, you’re sweet on her, right?” Rats, Lance had noticed. Would he use it against Sadie, turning Jon’s safety into another threat to hold over her head?
Heat warmed Jon’s cheeks. “I respect and admire her, yes.”
“You said you loved her on the phone.” Lance glanced at Caleb. “I think he’s sweet on your sister.”
Jon caught movement out the screen door. He glanced at Lance and Kinnard, found them staring each other down, then looked out again.
More movement. Actually, lots of it. A lot of men in black with the reflective letters on the back of their jackets. The letters FBI.
Jon didn’t think he’d ever be happy to see the men in black, but he’d been wrong.
“What are we gonna do now?” Lance asked Kinnard.
“About what?”
“My father. Them.”
Jon caught Caleb’s eye and nodded slightly toward the door. Caleb wrinkled his brows. Jon nodded at the door again. Caleb followed his gaze and then his eyes went wide. He looked back at Jon.
Yes, he’d seen them. Knew what was coming.
“Maybe yer daddy will be okay.”
“He’d better be or you’re as good as dead.”
Jon flexed his untied hands. He’d be able to help once the FBI made their move. He waved from behind his back to Caleb. The boy nodded, understanding.